Geographe Bay/ Margaret River Region.

We called in at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, the most south westerly point of Australia where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. With nearby back burning the view was limited so we skipped the lighthouse tour and instead opted for a Caves Explorer Pass. This granted us access to Jewel Cave, Lake Cave and Mammoth Cave, all of which are found on the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge. These caves are just a few of over a hundred in the region, however are considered to be some of the most stunning and unique caves open to the public in Western Australia, even the world. A guided tour is a must with many sights being even more spectacular knowing their history and makings. About the caves:

Jewel Cave is W.A.’s largest show cave open to the public

–        Contains the third longest straw stalactite in the world at 4.43 metres long.

–        Is full of glistening stalactites and stalagmites that shine as bright as jewels

Lake Cave is an active cave, complete with a stunning lake and limestone formations

–         doline entrance (roof caved in) complete with Titanic replica (lump of rock resembling the ship)

–        “Suspended Table”, one of only two in the world, the only one accessible to public.

Mammoth Cave involves a self-guided tour complete with mp3 player

-          Named due to its mammoth size

-          Contains fossils of Mega fauna and Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger)

Well worth a visit.

Our accommodation for the region was a nifty stone cottage and surrounds. A colleague (thank you Susan Carlyle!!) from Alice Springs offered us her home located in the outskirts of Margaret River. This provided us with running hot water, a fire place and a great base camp to take the camper off and explore the area. We also got to know the neighbours and their dogs, Tessa and Mel, quite well (well enough to receive half a rabbit as a present from Tessa).

Whilst in the Margaret River region it seemed wrong not to play the part and taste/buy whatever took our fancy. We called upon:

·         The Berry Farm – avocados and plum port +tastings!

·         The Candy Cow – lollies! Plus tastings of fudge and honeycomb

·         Cape Mentelle Winery – too fancy for us, however we tried all their range anyway

·         Margaret River Fudge Factory – fudge +tastings!

·         Colonial Brewing Co. – lunch in the sun and a taster of beer

·         Margaret River Dairy Co. – cheese +tastings!

·         Olio Bello – olive oil tastings including passionfruit and mandarin infused oils

·         Cheeky Monkey Brewery and Cidery – taster of beer and cider

·         Killerby Wines – killer reds, killer specials. +tastings!

·         Juniper Estate Wines – cool rose garden and amusing French lady, white port. +tastings!

·         Margaret River Nougat Co. – supposedly tasty but egg = uncool, however we tasted their wines yum!

·         Margaret River Chocolate Company – return visits were a must. Great samples, some good buys.

·         Margaret River Providore – chocolate liqueur – must have!  +tastings!

·         Margaret River Silk Road – only Australian Silk Company awesome threads. +tastings – mulberry jams not silk!

·         House of Cards Winery – wicked Shiraz +tastings!

·         Gabriel Chocolate – great samples, awesome hot chocolate, woops we bought more chocolate.

·         Howling Wolves Wines – sweet tastes, awesome labels – camper filling with wine.

·         Adinfern Estate – well recommended, cherry on the top of our experience great reds and port. +tastings!

To mix it up a bit we also visited Prevelly Beach for a stunning sunset over the Indian Ocean, dined at the Settlers Tavern, explored Cowaramup (a town full of fibreglass cows) and also attended the local markets. I should mention that the markets were full of tastings from cheeses to breads to chocolates to wines and mead. Most notable was the tipsy owner of Blackwood Meadery with his various tastings and stories.

After all of our visits and adventures the camper was brimming, even with our best attempts come the evenings. 

After almost a week of settling down to get jobs down we’d managed to indulge, increase our to-do -list and have a successful holiday from our holiday - It was time to move on.

Next stop along the coast was Busselton, where we finally purchased our first fishing rod and subsequently made some alterations to our camper. A must do in Busselton is the historic jetty including its underwater observatory. However (I sound like a broken record) due to bad weather, poor visibility and rough seas this attraction was closed. We also made another very important purchase – a dust buster to vacuum up mozzies and bugs in the camper (great success)! That night we camped at Ironstone Gully Falls. A lovely free campsite in the middle of nowhere, next to some falls. We pulled up next to an older couple with some interesting stories who were hell bent on having a fire even when the rain started pouring down. We stayed warmly in the camper eating a casserole from a can to make up for our lavish week, whilst our neighbours stood next to their fire with an umbrella over the fireplace. And thus ends another week in paradise.

Lesson of the week: 

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.” Frank Sinatra

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